To Catch a Thief
by VoodooQueen
Summary: By request, the sequel to 'It Takes a Thief'. Circumstances once again draw our characters together. Will they finally be able to find happiness together or will complications doom them to a life apart? Be nice people...sequels scare me...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi guys! Hooray for long weekends and inspiration! This is a little present for the people who were following my other story called 'It Takes a Thief'. If you haven't read it, you may at least want to skim through it so you aren't totally lost and all like 'WTF??'. A lot of people contacted me after the last chapter to ask if there was a chance for a sequel or at the very least some sort of happy alternate ending for the characters involved. Apparently, many peeps weren't too happy with the way things left off (I actually got quite a few angry PMs damning me to hell and telling me how horrible and evil I am, lol). I gave it a bit of thought and figured 'What the heck'. I've really got nothing better to do. So this is for you guys(you know who you are)! Maybe things will turn out better for our characters this time around. I hope you enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since the last story. I still don't own Transformers.**

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**Chicago, Illinois**

"Uh, hello?" The man waved his hand in front of the woman's face in an attempt to regain her attention from whatever it was outside the window that had distracted her. He cupped one hand over his mouth and made a noise imitating static. "Earth to Revecca...do you copy? Come in. We're losing you..."

"Hmm...Huh?" Revecca Warren blinked rapidly as she came out of her daze. She looked questioningly at the man seated across from her. "I'm sorry, Evan. Did you say something?"

The man gave her a goofy grin. "I asked if you were finished..."

Rev tilted her head in confusion. "Finished?"

"Eating." Evan motioned to the plate situated in front of the woman.

"Eh...OH!" Rev looked down at her plate. They had been sitting in the restaurant for close to an hour and she had barely picked over her meal. Her face reddened slightly as she pushed the food away. "Yeah, I'm done."

Evan chuckled good naturedly. "Damn, honey, what in the world had gotten into you tonight? You're kinda distracted. You've hardly touched your dinner."

Revecca shook her head and smiled sadly. "It's nothing. I guess I'm just tired is all. It's been a really, really long day."

The man frowned sympathetically and reached across the table to clasp one of her hands. "Poor baby. You know, you work entirely too much. You just need to take a couple days off and cut loose and go have some fun somewhere."

Rev nodded and sighed tiredly as Evan rambled on about something or other. She took the opportunity and stole another glance out the window toward the thing that had caught her eye. She let her gaze roam longingly over the form. It wasn't as large. It certainly wasn't as intimidating. Hell, it wasn't even the right make and model, but the way the streetlights glinted off the black paint caused her heart to beat a bit faster and a tingling warmness to spread throughout her body.

She wasn't really surprised by the sudden urge that invaded her mind to run outside and embrace the vehicle and run her fingers over the hard, metal body. It wouldn't be the first time it occured to her. Not so very long ago, a thought such as this might have disturbed her and sent her running in the opposite direction screaming. In fact it had, quite literally. Now, the thing she found really disturbing was the idea that cold, inanimate, unliving steel would be the only thing to greet her hands if she carried out her impulse. She could only imagine what people would think of her if they only knew about the things that ran through her head and stirred in her body at the site of a mere truck. What surprised her the most is that she had reached the point where she couldn't have cared less what they would have said.

At that moment, Revecca was reminded, not for the first time, of what she had tried to leave behind her. She had spent well over a year telling herself that it was for the best. All this time she had been trying desperately to convince herself the kind of relationship Ironhide had desired to share with her was impossible between two such drastically different beings. There difference in species being the largest obstacle between them in Rev's eyes. Looking back, Revecca now felt that was a moot point, one she had been stupid enough to dwell on in the first place. She had been too hung up on her own misgivings to realize what a unique and wonderful gift she had standing right in front of her. It was something she would always regret. Damn the harsh puritanical values ingrained on society!

She remembered their parting as if it happened yesterday. He had tried so hard to get her to stay but she had pushed him away when he had tried to hold her and tell her that he loved her...and he really had loved her. She knew that without a doubt from the sinceritly in his words. Damn him for making her feel this way. If she wanted, she could easily blame him for the heartache she had endured since but she knew he was not truly the one at fault. She had been the one to draw the line and literally run away after telling herself she couldn't deal with the consequences. She had been so convinced it had been the right thing to do. Now she knew better. It felt so wrong to be without him. Unfortunately, one can not change the past. One can only march forward and hope to learn from their mistakes.

Revecca had tried her best to do just that. During the time they had been apart, she had worked hard to get some semblance of a life back. Professionally, she had done quite well for herself. She had left behind a criminal past as a car thief and now used the extensive knowledge she had gained through that experience as a car buyer for a well-known Chicago auto auction company that catered to wealthy automobile conessieurs. Paul McIntire, her boss, was a charming old gentleman who reminded her greatly of her late grandfather, a far cry from her former employer. Her coworkers had welcomed her with open arms despite her shady past and she felt right at home working with them. It was very good money and she could say in all truthfulness that she loved her job. For the first time in her life, she was making a decent, honest living. She wished her Daddy was alive to see her. He would have been so proud.

Her private life was another matter all together. It seemed that every time she thought she had gotten herself together, something would come along and remind her of the large, cannon-toting mech and she would fall apart all over again. She had tried so hard to put him behind her. No matter what she did, it seemed her thoughts always turned back to him. Ironhide was inescapable. She had finally been able to admit to herself that she loved him without feeling shame. She regretted the fact she had never said the words to his face. She had been afraid to. She had been afraid of what that would have meant; that it would have been admitting something was wrong with her for feeling that way about a being so completely different from herself. She had hoped distancing herself from him would have squashed her feelings. It obviously hadn't.

Revecca snapped back to reality and smiled politely as Evan paid the bill and helped her up from the table to escort her out the door of the restaurant to his car. She took a moment to really look at the man as he courteously opened the car door for her. He wasn't bad looking by any means. He was...cute, she supposed. He had short, messy brown hair, light brown eyes, a slim build...and dimples. He was the happy-go-lucky type, laid back and with a goofy sense of humor.

Revecca had went out with a few different guys off and on before she met Evan Kendall through a mutal acquaintence. He was the type of man Revecca thought could distract her from what she really wanted. For the past five and a half months they had been seeing each other and it was becoming painfully obvious that it wasn't working. She still longed for Ironhide just as much as she always had.

"So..." Evan smiled at her as he climbed behind the wheel and shut his door. "What do you want to do now?"

Rev realized she was again staring at the big, black truck sitting on the other side of the parking lot and had to pull her eyes away. "I don't know. It's getting kinda late..."

"Well..." Evan fidgeted with the ignition nervously and started the car. "Wanna go back to my place and hang out?" There was hopefulness in his words.

Revecca looked at him and tried to conceal her unease. There was no doubt that Evan had been extremely patient and understanding with her. The physical intimacy in their relationship was virtually nonexistent. It had taken her weeks just to force herself to kiss him. His lips had felt completely foreign against her own. It struck her as strange how kissing one of her own kind had seemed so alien, while kissing an alien had seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

She would by lying if she said she hadn't been consumed with guilt afterwards. The only thought in her head at the time was that she had betrayed the trust of the one she really loved by sharing an intimate moment with another. She believed she had a pretty good idea how someone caught in an affair felt. She wanted nothing more than to go home so she could brush her teeth and try to scrub off Evan's scent. Still, she felt compelled to keep seeing the man for the sake of her own sanity. She kept trying, in vain, to force herself to care about him 'in that way', as something more than a friend. So here she sat, still pretending that everything was well and good between them when in reality she felt like she was being eaten alive by regret.

She took one last glance out the window at the truck before turning her attention back to the man behind the wheel. She figured she owed herself to at least try. She mustered up her best smile before she spoke. "I'd like that."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Autobot Base**

Optimus looked up from his reading when he heard a heavy knock on his door. "Enter." He smiled a bit to see Ironhide step into the room. The mech tended to make himself scarce, spending long hours alone on the weapon range or holed up in his quarters doing Primus knows what for cycles on end. "Ironhide."

The weapon specialist nodded a greeting to his Commander as he handed him the data pad he was carrying. "Me and Jazz just finished up. Here's the inventory numbers ya wanted."

Optimus thanked the mech and motioned toward the chair in front of his desk. He believed the mech would feel better if he talked about what was really bothering him, but getting Ironhide to open up about personal issues was, as the humans say, 'like pulling teeth'. "I'm not terribly busy at the moment. Would you like to have a seat, Ironhide? We haven't really had a chance to get together and talk in a while with all the activity around here recently."

Ironhide knew of Optimus' concern for him but waived off the offer. He was a grown mech. He didn't need his friend, who was several millenia his junior, fussing over him like an upset sparkling. Why couldn't everyone leave him be? They couldn't possibly know how he felt. He needed an excuse to get away so he could get back to the blessed solitude of his quarters. "Nah, I promised Jazz I'd grab some energon with 'im when we were done. He's waitin' on me. Maybe later."

"Ah...certainly." Prime nodded in slight disappointment but was happy his friend was at least going to do something sociable of his own accord. Recently Ratchet, concerned for the mech's wellbeing, had taken to physically forcing the mech to spend time in the rec room with the others just to get him out of his isolation. "I'll let you get going then. Tell Jazz I said thank you for getting this done so quickly."

"Will do." Mumbling a goodbye, Ironhide ambled out of Prime's office and let the door slide shut behind him.

Optimus opened a comm channel to his Lieutenant as soon as the door was closed. _'Jazz, you there?'_

Jazz didn't hesitate to respond. _'I'm here. Whatcha need boss bot?'_

Prime ran a hand over the back of his helm. _'Is Ironhide meeting you?'_

_'Uh...no. I asked him if he wanted to hang out and grab a drink. Said he had other stuff to do. We just finished up inventory. Ya need 'im for somethin'? He may be out on the practice range or back in his quarters. Want me to go find 'im?'_

_'No, Jazz, that's alright. Carry on with what you were doing.' _Prime leaned back in his chair and sighed. He wasn't sure what to do with Ironhide anymore. The mech hadn't been himself since his human companion had decided it would be better if they weren't together and left to reside halfway across the country. It pained the Autobot leader to see one of his dearest friends so miserable.

Sure, Ironhide was still just as weapon obsessive as he'd always been. He continued to perform his duties to the very best of his ability without fail. He still traded insults with Ratchet on a regular basis and would play around with Bumblebee when the younger mech initiated it, but he just wasn't the same. He hadn't even seemed all that thrilled with the new arrivals to the base. Not that Ironhide hadn't been happy to see more Autobots arrive on Earth, but the joy of seeing their comrades after so long seemed tarnished by the absence of one tiny, human female. It was almost like Revecca had taken the best piece of him with her when she had left.

Shaking his head sadly, Optimus looked back to his reading material. He hoped Revecca was faring better than the weapon specialist. Despite everything, Optimus believed she was indeed a good person. She was perhaps a bit misguided at times, but a good person none the less. Optimus could understand how Ironhide felt. There wasn't a mech alive who hadn't had their spark broken at one point or another and there was nothing worse than loving someone that didn't love you back. Aside from praying for some sort of divine intervention to come along and put things right, all Optimus could do is hope Ironhide would sort himself out eventually.

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**Ironhide POV**

A deep sigh escaped him as he made his way to his quarters. He paused briefly in front of the doors to the room that had once been _hers. _How many times had he gone in there and just stood as he tried to soak up whatever bit of her essence she had left behind? He'd lost count.

He reached toward the mech-sized door as he contemplated whether or not to go in. Growling, he pulled his hand away as if he had been burned and forced himself to continue in his trek to his room. It was easier said than done. His spark thrummed painfully as if begging him for just a glimpse of the space she had once occupied. He denied it the satisfaction it craved as he continued on, cursing himself and her and Primus and anyone else that came to mind.

Dragging himself into his quarters, he secured the door behind him and flung himself down onto his recharge berth. Time didn't seem to be helping to ease his pain. If nothing else, the absence of her in his life grated on him more and more with each passing cycle. He knew he was mourning in a sense and probably would be for much time to come.

When Chromia had died he had experienced similar feelings. In Chromia's case, however, there was also a sense of finality. He knew she was gone with no hope of ever seeing her again until his own life was over and he too met the Creator. He had trouble accepting her death, but had at the same time had been forced to acknowledge the fact that their time together had come to an end. How could he not with her lifeless form cradled in his arms?

With Revecca, the feeling was much the same but at the same time entirely different. She was very much alive. She simply wanted nothing to do with him. She had more or less informed him that she had no room for him in her life and had picked up and left. She was there, alive and breathing, but he couldn't have her. Not in the context he wanted her, anyway. In a way, he believed the pain he felt from her rejection hurt worse that it would have if she had perished at the hands of the Decepticons. At least that was a form of hurt he understood and could deal with.

Revecca, he knew, was still a young human. He was certain that she had many dreams and aspirations that she wished to fufill in her lifetime. He also knew there were many things a human male would be able to provide her with that he could never dream of. The simplest of things that composed everyday human life eluded him. The small things people took for granted were outside his grasp. He would never be able to give her what humans would consider a 'normal' home or a 'normal' life. He would never be able to give her offspring if she so desired to conceive. For that matter, he wasn't even entirely sure he would have been able to physically pleasure her the way human male was capable of as he had never been given a proper opportunity to test his skills, but by _Primus_ he would have tried and enjoyed every second of it.

He had hoped against hope that what he had been able to give her would have been sufficient to make up for his shortcomings. He had offered her his unwaivering companionship, loyalty, devotion, and love. He would have given her the very spark in his chest if she would have accepted it. To his dismay, she had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want it. He had offered her everything he had and it hadn't been enough to make her stay. She had slipped out of his life as easily as she had slipped in.

As he lay on his berth staring at the ceiling he hoped she at least thought of him as fondly as he thought of her when she remembered the brief time they had spent together. He hoped that wherever she was at this very moment that she was content. He prayed that she could find someone out there that could give her the life she wanted and deserved. As much as it pained him, he hoped she was happy...even if it wasn't with him.

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**Chicago**

Revecca was glad Evan was too caught up in what he was doing to notice her lackluster response to his efforts. She actually felt bad for him. He always tried so hard to make her happy, to make her laugh, to make her feel good. It pained her to know that he was wasting his time on her when she would never really be able to return his feelings. The poor man was living in the shadow of someone he could never hope to measure up to and he didn't even know it.

Revecca's eyes widened and she jumped slightly when she felt a pair of warm hands slide up under her shirt to caress her back. "Evan..."

"Mmm, Rev..." Evan purred into her neck, "You're so warm."

Revecca shuddered, mostly out of guilt as she felt Evans hands move to glide across the skin of her abdomen. A groan escaped her and she let her eyes drift closed. Unconsciously, she arched up into his touch as she remembered. If she concentrated hard enough she could almost imagine herself being pinned under Ironhide's holoform in a hospital bed as he explored the contours of body with a heated curiosity. Almost... Evan's hands were too soft, his touch too light, and his weight not as substantial. There was no passion, at least on her part. There was no...love.

Rev's eyes shot open when the man kissed his way down her stomach to fumble with the zipper of her jeans. Her hands tangled in his hair in an attempt to stop him. She wasn't able to continue this. "Evan..."

"Hmm?" Evan looked up from where he was slowly sliding Revecca's jeans off her hips.

Rev let go of his hair and grasped at the waist of her pants, pulling them back up and quickly zipping them. "Stop...I-I can't...I'm sorry." She hurriedly scrambled out from beneath him to stand by the bed.

"Revecca..." Evan took a deep breath and blew it out slowly before looking at her. "Look, if you aren't feeling up to it, thats okay. I don't want to rush you...We don't have to do this right now if don't want to." He gave her a reassuring smile to let her know it was alright.

"No." Revecca put a hand to her forehead and sank down into a chair near the bed. "I-I can't do this with you...ever. I am so sorry. I wish I could give you a better explaination."

Evan hung his head and nodded sadly before meeting her gaze. "You don't have to explain. I know you have someone else."

Revecca's hand dropped limply to her lap at his simply stated words. She couldn't tear herself away from the hurt expression in his eyes. "I-I don't..."

Evan waived her off. "You don't have to deny it, Rev. I've known for a while now. I just...I don't know...I didn't want to acknowledge it."

Rev felt tears prickling at the corner of her eyes. If he only knew... "Evan, I'm not seeing anyone else."

Evan shook his head slightly. "I know he's not here physically..." He gestured around himself. "But he's still in here." He tapped himself on the chest. "You may be here with me but your head is somewhere else entirely." Evan lowered his eyes and sighed sadly. "I guess I was hoping I could change that."

Revecca sniffled as she felt a tear streak down her face. She swallowed hard. The proverbial cat was out of the bag. Her voice cracked when she spoke. "Me, too."

Evan looked back up at her with sorrow filled eyes. He really had been hoping he could be what Rev wanted him to be. "You know, I really do care about you , Rev."

"I know..." Revecca swiped at her cheeks with the back of a hand. "I know..."

"I'll tell you one thing, " Evan cleared the lump in his throat. "Whoever he is, he's a very lucky guy. I hope he appreciates what he has as much as I would have."

Revecca shook her head as another tear fell. Her voice was barely a whisper. "I'm the one who should have been appreciative..."

XXXXXXXXXX

Revecca fumbled to get her key into the lock with shaking hands. She had cried her eyes out the entire cab ride home. Apparently, her appearance had been pitiful enough that the driver refused to accept her money in exchange for driving her home. Her break with Evan had been more emotionally draining than she thought it would be. She felt terrible for him. It wasn't like her to string someone along so heartlessly. She had been so callous. She had used the poor guy for her own comfort and she felt terrible about it. There was nothing she could say that could excuse her behavior. She didn't think it was humanly possible to hate herself more than she did right now.

She was exhausted and her head pounded in time to the thudding of her aching heart. She had messed everything up once again it seemed. Everything she touched seemed to turn to shit. She had blown Ironhide off heartlessly, screwed herself out of being truly happy, and managed to cruelly play with the feelings of someone that genuinely cared for her...the list could go on for days. She was miserable. She slammed the door shut to the large apartment she shared with her friend a bit harder than she intended.

"Hey, Rev! That you?"

"Yeah, Tisha, its me." Revecca threw her purse and keys down on the coffee table before collapsing on the sofa in a tragic heap.

Rev's roomate poked her head around the corner dressed in a fluffy, blue bathrobe with a toothbrush dangling out of her mouth. She had a towel wrapped around her wet hair and her caramel-colored skin had been scrubbed free of makeup. "You're home early. How'd your date with Evan go?"

Revecca groaned and threw and arm over her eyes. "We broke up."

"What?!" Tisha pulled the towel off her hair and tossed it on a chair. She came to sit by her friend. "Why? You guys were like perfect for each other."

Revecca struggled to sit up straight and shrugged off her jacket. "No...No, we weren't..."

"Oh hell to the no. I know exactly where this is goin'." Tisha shook her head and crossed her arms across her chest. "We are not gonna go through this shit again. This is getting ridiculous."

Revecca looked at the woman wearily. "What?"

Tisha stood and planted her hands firmly on her hips. "Everytime you meet a nice guy you do this. I thought you had finally gotten over this with Evan."

Rev looked away from the woman's accusing stare. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, no? I think you know exactly what I'm talking about." Tisha smirked. "You spend all your time comparing the guys you meet to whoever that dude was you was hooking up with back home. What I don't understand is why you're wastin' so much energy dwelling on him since it obviously didn't work out or you wouldn't be here with me. Its been well over a year, Rev...It's time to move on."

"You don't understand, Tish..." Revecca stared at the floor. Just thinking about it made tears spring to her eyes. "It was all my fault. I am so freaking stupid..."

"Please don't start with the self pity..." Tisha thought for a moment, then snorted as an idea popped into her head. "Y'know what you need?"

Rev sighed as she rubbed her reddened eyes. "What?"

Tisha arched one eyebrow evilly. "You need to go out, get completely tore up, find yourself some random stud...or maybe two, and let 'em break your fuckin' back."

Rev visibly paled. "Excuse me?"

Tisha laughed hard at the appalled look that appeared on Revecca's face at her suggestion. She shrugged once she had regained her composure. "I'm just sayin'...Find someone to wear your ass out one good time and then see if you're still lustin' after what's his name. I'm sure there are plenty of guys out there willing to help you ease your sexual frustrations."

"You are disgusting..." Revecca shook her head and hauled herself to her feet. "That is absolutely NOT what I need, Tish...and I'm not sexually frustrated."

"Whatever...I'm just trying to help." Tisha followed her friend down the hall. "But y'know, you can't keep doing this to yourself. It ain't healthy."

"I realize this..." Rev stopped outside her bedroom door and rubbed her eyes. "I just need some time to think and get myself straightened out."

Tisha pursed her lips together. "Well, don't take too much longer or life is gonna pass you on by. If you ain't careful, before you realize what's happening you're gonna be that old, crazy bitch living in the creepy house on the corner with all the stray cats who scares the living bejesus out of all the neighborhood kids."

Rev couldn't help but chuckle even as her shoulders slumped tiredly. "Yeah, yeah...crazy cat lady..."

"Oh, hey! I almost forgot!" Tisha turned to go back down the hall. "Something came for you this afternoon. A courrier dropped it off. I had to sign for it and everything."

"A courrier?" Rev tried to think of what it might be. The only things she ever received via courrier were car titles and those always came to the office.

"Here ya go. Your envelope, madame." Tisha returned and thrust a manilla envelope into Rev's hands.

Rev turned the envelope over carefully. Her name and address were neatly typed on the front. Whatever it was, it looked official. Her carefully sculpted eyebrows scrunched together as she slipped one manicured nail under the flap to open it. Reaching inside, she pulled out the papers it contained. Her eyes widened as she read through the contents. "Oh, fuck me..."

Tisha watched Revecca with a concerned expression as the woman's eyes darted over the papers and the disturbed look on her face grew more pronounced. "Something wrong, Rev? What is it?"

"Life seems to be perfectly hellbent on screwing me over tonight..." Revecca looked back up at her friend with worry etched on her features. "Its a subpeona..."

End of Chapter 1

**Well, it seems that those two have been completely miserable without one another. That's so sad. But, Revecca seems to have gotten herself into some kind of legal situation which means she'll probably end up having to head back that way to appear in court...HOPEFULLY she isn't the one in trouble but knowing her past occupation who knows...**

**I wonder what will happen if she and Ironhide do manage to cross paths again?? Will it still be the same?? Guess we'll have to wait to find out.**

**Hope you enjoyed! Till next time!**

**VQ**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hi peoples. I had a little extra time on my hands and with nothing better to do, I typed out another chapter. I sort of lost my train of thought so I apologize if it seems choppy or whatever. I got, erm…distracted about halfway through, so yeah. Sorry. Anyways, I hope you get at least some entertainment out of it. Later!**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, no.**

**Autobot Base**

"Hey guys, listen to this..." Mikaela sat at one of the human-sized tables in the Autobot's newly remodeled rec room with a newspaper spread out in front of her.

"What is it, 'Kaela?" Sam quickly glanced away from the giant television screen, where he was locked in a fierce game of 'Guilty Gear XX Accent Core' with the recently arrived Bluestreak, to look at his girlfriend.

The smoke-gray bot with his lip components set in a grim look of determination, took advantage of the teenager's momentary distraction to pummel Sam's character into submission. "Ha, ha! I got you, Sam!"

"WHAT?! HEY! NO!" Sam punched the buttons on his controller in vain even as the voice radiating from the television announced his defeat. "AHH!" Sam slammed down the controller. "No fair, Blue! I was distracted!"

The bot grinned at him, his baby blue optics sparkling innocently. "Sorry, Sam, but you let your guard down. You should have been paying more attention. If this had been a real fight, you could have been seriously injured. I was watching the WWE last night with Wheeljack and this guy looked away for one second and the other guy hit him over the head with a folding chair three times. Three times!" The mech held up three fingers for emphasis. "The guy got up afterward and kept wrestling, but still. I can't believe he didn't suffer some sort of serious head injury. Y'know, Wheeljack says most of the violent acts in shows like that are staged for entertainment purposes and the people don't really get hurt as bad as they make it look. I think he's probably right because Ratchet says such traumatic injuries in humans can be very serious and would most likely result in..."

"AHEM!" Mikaela cleared her throat loudly and glared at her boyfriend and the talkative mech with amusement.

The two looked at each other guiltily before looking back at her. They spoke in unison, "Sorry, Mikaela."

Mikaela arched an eyebrow. "As I was saying..." She flipped back to the story she had been reading. She cleared her throat once again, softly this time before she began to read. _"State and Federal Prosecutors are in the process of building their case against a local man for his part in what they are vaguely referring to as a case of domestic terrorism. Authorities are charging that Ryan Cavanaugh, a known trafficker of stolen merchandise ranging from automobiles to military surplus, knowingly provided goods and services to an unnamed terrorist organization in return for monetary payment. _

_"Bringing the case to trial has been proving exceedingly difficult for authorities due to the lack of forthcoming witnesses and credible testimony. In some cases, individuals have come forward with information only to vanish off the radar or retract their statements leading many involved in the investigation to suspect the possibility of __witness tampering__. This has further added to the frustration of prosecutors along with the recent disappearance of key evidence used in Cavanaugh's indictment._

_"As of the printing of this story, trial is set to begin next week. Prosecutors are hoping by that time to have reinforced their case against Cavanaugh. If convicted, Cavanaugh faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole and..."_

"Give me that."

Mikaela nearly jumped out of her skin when the large, cannon-wielding Autobot plucked the paper out of her hands with two enormous fingers. "Christ, Ironhide! Where did you come from? We need to put a bell on you or something. You scared me to death..."

The large, black mech merely grunted as he surveyed the article with narrowed optics. _'Cavanaugh.'_ He remembered the name well. Ryan Cavanaugh was the piece of organic filth that had hurt Revecca when they had first met. He knew the sorry excuse for a male would have done a lot more than that if he hadn't been there to stop him. He would have violated Revecca in the worst way. _His_ Revecca... He hoped the human authorities threw the man in prison and lost the key.

"Hey, 'Hide?" Mikaela looked up at the mech. "Isn't that the guy Revecca used to work for?"

"Mikaela!" Sam made a frantic shushing motion at his girlfriend, afraid the very mention of the woman's name might bring on one of Ironhide's infamous 'moods'.

"Mmmm." Ironhide nodded his head almost as an afterthought. His processor was elsewhere, namely on the human femme who still held dominion over his spark. He wondered if she was aware of what was going on with her former employer. Had they tried to contact her for information? Had she been one of those who had 'vanished' or taken back their testimony?

The possibility that she may be forced to return home by legal means briefly lit up his synapses. He thought that if he could just see her one more time, maybe...but no. The thought of trying to rekindle whatever had sparked between them fizzled out. He couldn't make her want to be with him, not after she had so clearly told him she didn't want him. Perhaps it was best to leave things be, miserable as they were.

The sound of a heavy hip-hop beat filtered down the hallway. It grew in volume until it was almost deafening. The deep, resonating bass vibrated the walls and rattled anything that wasn't bolted down. The rec room door slid open on its hinges to admit a very irritated looking black and white mech followed by Jazz, who was bobbing his head to the music unfazed.

Doorwings twitched in obvious annoyance. The black and white mech, unable to withstand anymore punishment to his audios, turned on the smaller, silver mech. He had to yell to be heard over the pounding bass line. "JAZZ! TURN THAT SLAGGING GARBAGE OFF!"

Jazz shrugged, an amused grin spreading across his face. "WHAT'S THAT, PROWLER?! I CAN'T HEAR YA! THE MUSIC'S TOO LOUD!"

"I SAID..." Prowl suddenly found himself screaming in an eerily quiet room when Jazz suddenly switched off the music. His doorwings fluttered in slight embarrassment as he felt all eyes/optics on him. Regaining some semblance of dignity, he straightened himself and looked down on the silver bot with a heated glare. "I asked you to please turn the music down. You happen to be breaking several city noise ordinances as well as obscenity laws due to the lyrical content of your chosen…song. Furthermore, no one, especially me, wants to hear it. It's distracting."

"Music is **supposed** to be distractin', Prowl. That's the whole point." Jazz flopped down into a large, mech-sized chair. One of his legs dangled over the armrest. "I'm just tryin' to help ya expand your cultural horizons."

Prowl bristled. "I am perfectly capable of _expanding_ my own horizons without being forced to listen to that, that..._noise._"

"It isn't noise." Jazz folded his arms across his chest plate. "It's a form of self expression."

"Oh, I beg to differ." Prowl brought both hands up to rub his ringing audios.

"A'ight, man. Whatever." Jazz waived the mech off. "Go back to your office and listen to _Yanni_ or somethin'. You're a lost cause."

Bluestreak peeked over the back of the gigantic sofa at the two mechs curiously. "Who's Yanni?"

"Exactly. Thank you." Jazz threw his arms up into the air as if the young gunner had just made his point for him before letting them drop back down into his lap. Noticing Ironhide standing silently off to the side, the mech perked up again, his trademark grin reestablishing itself on his face. "What's crackin', 'Hide? Nice ta see ya out 'n about. Whatcha got there?"

"Nothin'." Ironhide let the newspaper slip from his fingers and drift back down to the table where Mikalea still sat. He had been having a pretty good day up until he had seen the article in the paper. He hadn't thought about her _quite_ so much today. Now, he had once again been brutally reminded of the one thing he so desperately wanted and couldn't have. He had the sudden urge to be alone with his thoughts. "I'm goin' out for some target practice if anyone needs me."

Jazz shook his head sadly as he watched the large mech amble slowly out of the room. "Somebody needs ta do somethin'. That ain't right."

Prowl shot the mech a warning glance. "Leave him be, Jazz. You'll just make things worse than they are."

"I don't think that's even possible..." Jazz pushed himself up and wandered over to pick up the discarded newspaper. His optics, hidden behind his visor, wandered over the pages, stopping on the very same article. "Ahh..."

Jazz did a quick search of court records and airline rosters. One corner of his mouth twitched upwards in a mischievous smirk. This had to be more than a happy coincidence. He turned back toward the tactician. "You're right, Prowler. I'll just leave _him_ alone…" Jazz checked his internal chronometer as he headed toward the door. "Well, would ya look at the time? It's been fun, y'all, but I've got places to go and people to see."

Prowl looked after the mech suspiciously. "Where are you off to, Jazz?"

"Just goin' for a drive." Jazz waved. "Later all. Don't wait up."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Airport**

Revecca waited anxiously at the luggage carousel for her bags. She had been a bundle of nerves for the passed two weeks since she had received the subpoena ordering her to provide testimony against her former employer. To be quite honest, she was scared stiff…and not all of it had to do with Ryan. Some of it had to do with her sudden geographical closeness to a certain mech.

On the plane ride, she had actually weighed the pros and cons of actually taking a drive out to the Autobot base while she was in town. On one hand, the prospect of laying eyes on Ironhide again made her heart leap into her throat. Given the opportunity, she would gladly beg his forgiveness for treating him so heartlessly. On the other hand, she didn't think she would be able to stand it if she found he had moved on and no longer wanted anything to do with her.

Scratching off the possibility of a happy reunion, Revecca lugged her bags out to the trunk of her rented Toyota Camry. Sliding behind the wheel, she cranked the engine to life and headed out into the city to find somewhere to spend the night. Hopefully things would look better in the morning after she met with her lawyer.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jazz cruised through the city streets and waited. He had just missed Revecca at the airport apparently. She had used her credit card there to rent a car allowing him to verify that she had indeed arrived in town right on time. Now he was just waiting for her to try to use it again in order to secure herself shelter as he was certain she would. Then he would be able to track her down and drag her back to the base to _hopefully_ kiss and make up with 'Hide and set the universe right again.

A credit inquiry from a local hotel caught his attention. Intercepting the query, Jazz sent back his own answer. He snickered to himself. She wouldn't be staying anywhere but the base tonight. Altering his course slightly, he headed off to capture the wayward femme and bring her back where she belonged.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I'm sorry ma'am, but your card has been declined."

"What do you mean 'declined'?" Revecca looked irritably at the clerk. "That's impossible. I just used it twenty minutes ago. Run it again."

"I've ran it twice, ma'am." The clerk shook his head. "It was declined twice." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Maybe you forgot to pay your bill."

Revecca scowled. "No, I did not forget to pay my bill." She dug through her purse and pulled out another card. "Try this one."

The clerk accepted the card with a bored look and swiped it. He let out a huff of air as he turned back toward the woman on the other side of the counter. "Declined."

"What?!" Revecca slammed her palms down on the counter in disbelief. "Well…Your machine must be broken."

"If you say so, ma'am." The clerk handed her card back with a disdainful look.

Revecca snatched her card back and shoved it into her purse. She spun away from the counter and stalked towards the exit.

"Have a nice evening."

Revecca fought the urge to flip the guy the bird as she stormed angrily back out into the evening air. "This is such bullshit." She rummaged around in her bag for her cell phone. She pulled it out with every intention of calling Tisha to bitch about what just happened when the sound of a finely tuned engine pulling up beside her entered her consciousness.

"Trouble gettin' a room, baby? Cause ya know, you're always more than welcome to come crash at my place."

Rev froze in her tracks at the sound of the all too familiar voice, her phone call forgotten. She turned on her heel slowly to see the sleek form of a Pontiac Solstice idling at the curb. Her mouth went dry and her heart felt like it was about to beat through her ribcage. She bent down slightly to look through the lowered passenger side window at the 'man' behind the wheel. "J-Jazz?"

The dark-skinned man in the driver's seat pulled his sunglasses down and flashed her a brilliant smile. "The one and only. Did ya miss me?"

End of Chapter 2

**Hmm…I got nothing. Didn't quite turn out the way I wanted, but…oh well. Let me know what ya thought. Peace!**

**VQ**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hey, hey. I've been trying to write about umpteen million things at once, lol. This is the first I got completed. I know this might seem like a bunch of boring talkie talkie right now...but I promise, it gets better. There IS gonna be some action in this story eventually, it just has to build to it...and drama, lots and lots of drama, lol. So, bear with me peoples. Anywho, I hope you enjoy the next installment. See ya at the bottom!**

**Disclaimer: VQ is not nearly cool enough to own Transformers.**

Revecca sat in the passenger seat of the Solstice, mentally slapping herself for allowing the suave mech to lure her into the vehicle. No sooner had she climbed in, the doors had locked and the Pontiac had pulled smoothly away from the curb. Watching the street signs fly by in a blur, Revecca had a pretty good idea where they were going. She thought she was going to be sick. She wasn't sure she'd be able to face what she was sure loomed in the not-so-distant future.

She stole a glance at the 'man' driving. The mech continued on with his friendly banter as if he hadn't just abducted her off the street corner. Rev frowned at the holoform. "You know what this is right? Kidnapping, that's what...and its a very serious crime."

Holo-Jazz merely grinned at her. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. You'll be thankin' me later."

Revecca huffed. "For what? Snatching me against my will?"

"No." The holoform released the steering wheel and turned to face Revecca fully, his face completely serious. "For knockin' some sense into ya and helpin' ya get things back the way they ought ta be."

Rev blinked at him a few seconds before replying. "I know what you're trying to do. Has it ever occurred to you..." She spoke slowly. "That maybe I don't want to go back to how things were and that maybe I'm happy with the way things turned out?"

Jazz shrugged and turned his eyes back to the road. "Yeah."

"Yeah?" Revecca looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "And?"

"And..." Jazz turned back toward her. "I think if ya really felt that way ya wouldn't have gotten in the car." Jazz studied the woman for a moment. "Look, I'll make ya a deal...If ya can tell me in all honesty that ya don't still have feelin's for 'im AND ya don't want anything else to do with 'im...I'll pull over right now and let ya out and you'll never have to worry about the Jazz-man interferin' in your life ever again. No questions asked. Deal?"

"I...I..." Rev had to tear her eyes away from his gaze. "Damn you, Jazz."

The mech chuckled. "That's what I thought."

"Jazz..." Rev slumped in the seat. "Why are you doing this? You should just let it go."

"I already told ya." Jazz sped up as he turned onto the open highway. "Ironhide has been absolutely miserable without ya. I'm sick o' watching 'im walk around lookin' like he's about to offline." Jazz's holoform turned slightly in the driver's seat to look Revecca up and down. "You're not lookin' too hot y'self so I'm guessin' the feelin's mutual."

Rev sighed as she looked out the window. She could tell by the change in scenery that they were getting closer to the base. "Yeah, well, I've been under a lot of stress lately."

"So I've heard." Jazz slowed a bit as her turned effortlessly onto the deserted road that would lead them to their destination. "That Cavanaugh guy ain't goin' down without a fight. Its better for ya to be somewhere safe than out there where he can get to ya." Jazz grinned at her smugly. "Yet another excellent reason why ya need ta be home...with Ironhide."

Rev groaned. It appeared that she wasn't going to really get a choice in the matter. She leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes, trying to think of what she would sa and do when she saw him again. Her heart felt like a dam on the verge of bursting with things she wanted to say. She hoped she would be able to come up with the right combination of words by the time she was faced with him.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Autobot Base**

It was late at night when Jazz and Revecca arrived. Rev scurried along nervously after Jazz as he transformed and headed to the base entrance. She couldn't help but pause for a moment when she stepped through the door into the interior of the main building. The place was almost unrecognizable from the last time she was there. She remembered an old, abandoned, rundown military base. The place she had just stepped into was a clean, brightly lit testament to modern architecture. "Wow...this place looks...different."

"Yeah..." Jazz nodded appreciatively and chuckled. "We didn't waste any time putting Wheeljack to work when he got here."

Rev looked up at the mech curiously. "Wheeljack?"

"We've had a few additions to our ranks while ya were gone." Jazz motioned for her to follow him as he continued talking. "They're good guys. You're gonna get along with 'em great. Wheeljack is an engineer. Some of our best technology was created in 'Jacks lab. Thankfully, he also knows a little somethin' somethin' about architecture and structural engineerin'."

Revecca nodded. "It shows."

"Let's see…" Jazz turned a corner, gesturing for Revecca to follow. "There's also Prowl. He can be a little bit serious…actually a lot serious. He's Optimus' right hand man." Jazz turned in the direction of the med bay. "Then we got Bluestreak…" Jazz paused to look down at the femme. "If ya run into 'im, make sure you don't have anywhere you need to be in a hurry."

Rev scrunched her eyebrows together. "Why?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Jazz chuckled as he pushed open the med bay doors. "We'll check in with the doc real quick. He's gonna be thrilled to see ya."

"Jazz…" Rev reached out and put a hand on Jazz's foot. "Do you really think my being here is a good idea?"

"Are you kiddin'?" Jazz grinned down at her as he strolled into the med bay. "HEY RATCHET! SOMEONE'S HERE TA SEE YA!"

There was a rustling from the enormous walk-in closet on the far end of the room. Ratchet poked his head out and looked around. "Jazz, do you have any idea what time it is? Whoever it is tell them they'll need to come back in the morning." The medic's optics drifted lower and widened in surprise. "Revecca?"

"Hey." Revecca waved weakly.

Ratchet's mouth twitched up into one of his rare smiles as he made his way toward the pair. "Revecca, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you."

Jazz nudged the woman with his foot. "Told ya."

The medic knelt down in front of her. "When did you get back in town?"

Revecca shrugged a bit uncomfortably. "Earlier tonight."

"Ah…" Ratchet nodded. "Am I correct in assuming that it has something to do with that whole mess with that Cavanaugh person? Its been all over the news."

Rev nodded. "Yeah…"

"Well, no matter." Ratchet stood back up to his full height. "I'm certain everything will turn out fine. You, of course, have our full support. We'll do whatever we can to help you in any way necessary."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Revecca's mouth. "Thanks."

"On another note…" Ratchet put his hands on his hips and bent over at the waist to look more closely at Revecca. His friendly smile turned completely serious. "Just what were you thinking running off like that? Do you have any idea how worried I was when you didn't come back with Ironhide?"

"Ratchet..." Jazz put a hand on the medic's shoulder. "Go easy on 'er. She just got here. Give her a chance to get settled back in before you lecture her."

"Hmph!" Ratchet shook the hand off and straightened. He looked down upon Revecca with a concerned scowl. "Don't think we're through discussing this, young lady."

"Yes, Sir." Revecca shuffled her feet. The look the medic was giving her was reminiscent of the way her father used to look at her when she had done something she should have known better than to do in the first place.

Ratchet seemed to relax again. "Its getting rather late." He glanced toward Jazz before settling his gaze once more on the tiny human at his feet. "Why don't you escort her to her room so she can get some rest."

Jazz rubbed the back of his helm. "I was hopin' to catch 'Hide..."

Ratchet looked toward the mech. "He's out at the Lennox residence, probably won't be back till the morning." He sighed and rubbed his optics. "Sometimes he just goes out there and sits."

The silver mech shook his head and looked down at Revecca. "Guess that'll have to wait. C'mon, you look exhausted. I'll take ya to your room." He turned toward the medic. "G'night, Ratch!"

Revecca hesitantly followed Jazz toward the door. She turned back to see the medic still looking after her. "Night, Ratchet."

"Goodnight, Revecca." Ratchet gave a slight smile. "Welcome home."

XXXXXXXXXX

Jazz had taken Revecca to her room and got her settled. She had kept insisting that her staying at the base was a terrible idea. She kept stressing the point that she had lawyers she needed to meet with and things that needed to be done and complained that Jazz had forced her to abandon her rental car at the hotel. Jazz had shot down her protests by pointing out the obvious: She was in a base full of sentient alien robots who transformed into vehicles. If she needed to go somewhere, she only had to ask.

Retreating to the common room, Jazz settled into an over-sized chair to await the weapon specialists return. He didn't have to wait long. He had only been hanging out for an hour when the huge double doors pushed open and Ironhide sauntered in.

"Hey, 'Hide." Jazz grinned up at the mech.

Ironhide more or less ignored Jazz as he crossed the room. "Jazz."

Jazz hopped to his feet, blocking Ironhide's path. He was determined not to let the mech escape. "Where ya goin'?"

"To defrag." Ironhide stepped to go around Jazz only to have the mech sidestep back into his path. "I'm not in the mood, Jazz. Move."

Jazz's grin never left his face. "I just wanna talk to ya for a second."

Ironhide growled. "Jazz..."

"One second, that's it. Then I'll let ya go recharge."

"Fine." Ironhide crossed his arms across his chest. "Start talkin'."

Jazz took a step back to lean casually in the doorway. "What would ya say if I told ya we had a very special guest?"

"I'd say I'm not in the mood to play this game." Ironhide took a step forward. "If ya have somethin' to say, say it. If not, get outta my way."

"A'ight." Jazz held up his hands in surrender. "I ran into Revecca today. I convinced her to come back with me. She's in her old room." It wasn't quite the truth, but the mech thought it better to leave out the part about tracking her down, hacking into her credit card account and abducting her from a hotel. "She's probably still awake if ya want to pop your head in and say hi."

"Revecca..." Ironhide's optics widened and his arms went limp and fell to his sides. He felt his spark churn in his chest almost painfully. "She's here?"

"Yep." Jazz nodded. He was rather proud of himself for pulling this off. "Well..." Jazz stretched his arms over his head and imitated the equivalent of a human yawn. "It's been a long day. I'll let ya get some recharge. G'night, 'Hide." Jazz chuckled as he left the large black mech standing in the common room staring off into space.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ironhide hadn't even realized his feet were moving until he found himself standing outside her door. How many times had he stood here imagining that she was inside? He'd lost count. Now that he knew the only thing separating them was a wall, it seemed too good to be true.

He placed a tentative hand on the door, unsure if he should knock or not. It occurred to him briefly that she may not want to see him. He found that he didn't care if she did or not. All that mattered was that he was able to lay his optics on her one more time to reassure himself that she was indeed alive and well after the horrific ordeal she had been through the last time.

Gently, he rapped on the large, mech-sized door with one knuckle. He could hear the slight sound of feet shuffling across the floor. His spark flared and twisted in it's compartment, screaming for contact. He knelt down when he heard the knob of the human-sized door on the side rattle as it was opened.

"Ironhide..." Revecca gasped as she found herself staring into cerulean optics so full of emotion that it made her heart hurt. She felt a bit overwhelmed with the feelings just seeing the mech before her stirred up. She felt wetness on her face and only then did she realize she was crying. "I'm...I'm...s-s...sorry..."

"Revecca..." 'Hide reached toward the woman. With one large finger, he wiped gently at the tears that slid down her cheek. "Don't cry..."

End of Chapter 3

**Er..well...alright then. That was kind of anticlimactic at the end. The next chapter I promise will be better. Stay tuned for the actual reunion, lol...and a bit 'o' trouble. Till next time, my little chickadees! Happy reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Update time! Woohoo! Thank you to everyone who has left me such nice comments about this story. Your reviews are always appreciated. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. **

**Disclaimer: He, who hath ears, let him hear this declaration; I hath no claim over Transformers!**

XXXXXXXXXX

"Sorry..." Revecca wiped at her eyes and took a step back into her room away from the mech's touch. She slowly turned to make her way back to sit on the edge of the bed. "I'm just...a little out of sorts...right now. It's been an eventful day."

Revecca forced herself to look back up into his optics. She had never in her entire life been so happy and so terrified to see someone all at once. She wanted to run and cling to him but at the same time wanted to turn tail and hide. "It's been a while. Its...good to see you. H-how have you been?"

Ironhide slowly rose to his feet, following her inside the room and kneeling back down in front of her. Although most definitely not emotional by nature, he couldn't put aside the feelings seeing the woman stirred in him after being apart from her. He barely restrained the urge to pluck her up off the bed and hold onto her. "I've missed ya."

The words were laced with a much deeper meaning. She could hear everything those words implied in the tone of voice he used. Revecca closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "I've missed you, too." She hoped he could hear all the things she really meant to say in her response as well.

His spark felt like it swelled in its chamber. That he had even crossed her mind while she was away gave him a sense of validation that his hope that she would some day return to him had not been in vain. Despite the victorious thrumming of his spark, his processor still demanded answers. His optics seemed to cloud over as he looked down upon her. "Revecca?"

"Yes?" She opened her eyes and let them drift upward to meet his optics.

"Why?" His voice crackled with static.

"I..." Revecca had known this question would probably surface if they met again. There were so many contributing factors she wasn't sure she could sort them all out herself. She watched him as he waited patiently for her to continue. "I was scared." That was the simplest answer she could give and more or less summed everything up.

Ironhide cycled air through his vents and frowned. "Of me? I would never-"

"No." Revecca shook her head vehemently. "Not you. Of me." She stood and took a couple of steps toward the crouching mech. She lightly placed her hand on top of one of his that rested on the floor. "My leaving had absolutely nothing to do with you. I can honestly say that. It was about me and my issues. I was putting too much stress on things that, looking back, I now realize shouldn't have mattered."

You..." She removed her hand from his and stretched up onto her tiptoes to touch the bottom part of his face. "You are wonderful...I just didn't realize until it was all said and done...and I apologize from the very bottom of my heart for what happened. If I could take it all back I would. I would have never left." Revecca dropped her hand and turned away from him. Tears were threatening again but at least she had gotten to say her piece. Maybe now, if nothing else, she could at least sleep at night.

Ironhide caught her chin with one large finger and turned her to look at him. He knew the way they parted had been painful for him. Looking at the petite human in front of him, he realized she had suffered just as much as he had. He also realized that despite the time that had passed, he still wanted her. "You're here now..."

The woman looked at him with watery eyes. She couldn't believe it. He was sitting in front of her offering her the very thing she wanted; a second chance. As much as she itched to throw herself on the opportunity, she didn't feel worthy. "Ironhide..." She sucked in a deep breath. "I don't deserve it."

The mech leaned in closer. "What are you talkin' about?"

Revecca smiled bitterly. "If you couldn't tell, I am a complete and total fuck up. My whole life is one giant disaster. I should be surrounded by orange cones and caution tape." She hung her head. "I'm a huge let down. Trust me; you don't want me, Ironhide...I'm not worth the effort."

"That's a bunch of slag. I don't know who put that idea in your head but if ya really believe that I'm gonna make it my job to convince ya otherwise..." Ironhide ran one of his fingers lightly over the side of her face. "Ya need to let me be the judge of what I do and do not want."

Rev lifted her chin slightly to look up at him. "'Hide..."

"I love ya. That hasn't changed." Ironhide looked down upon her with sincere optics. "All I'm askin' ya for is a chance to show ya how much...if you'll have me." He extended a hand to her in hopeful invitation.

His words almost broke her heart. Revecca looked from the outstretched hand up into the face of the mech that hovered above her. Pushing herself up off the bed, she approached the waiting hand, studying the smooth, metallic palm. She skimmed her fingers lightly over one of his. She couldn't deny any longer how badly she wanted this. Being apart from him for so long had only reinforced the knowledge that she needed him. How could she refuse? She looked back up at him and nodded her voice barely a whisper. "Yes..."

Ironhide needed no further encouragement. He gently picked up the woman and lifted her to his chest and cradled her there as he rocked back on his heels to lean against the wall. He let out what sounded like a relieved sigh. "Revecca..."

Revecca snuggled into his chest, amazed at how comfortable it actually was and how familiar it felt. She stretched her arms apart to embrace as much of him as she could. Unable to resist any longer, she pressed her lips to a spot directly over his spark chamber. "I love you, too."

XXXXXXXXXX

Jazz pulled his audio away from the door. A huge grin was plastered across his face. "Go, 'Hide. That's what I'm talkin' about. Score one for the Jazzman." The mech made a motion like he was dusting himself off. "My work here is done." Jazz sauntered off toward his own quarters with a little extra bounce in his step.

XXXXXXXXXX

**The Next Morning**

Prowl watched a widely smiling Jazz with a raised optic ridge as he strutted into the rec room and grabbed some energon. His optics narrowed at the mech when he casually plopped down in the seat next to him. "Jazz."

"Mornin', Prowler." Jazz's optics twinkled behind his visor.

Prowl continued to study the mech as he tried to figure out why he was so chipper. "What has you so enthused this morning? What did you get up to last night?"

Jazz shrugged. "Just went to go check in with a friend. Oh, I should probably mention that we have a guest." Jazz checked his internal chronometer. "She had a long night. I may need ta go make sure she's up. She has somewhere important she has ta be in a couple hours." Jazz grinned. "Hopefully 'Hide didn't keep her up too late."

"What?" Prowl looked at the mech in shock. "You didn't."

"Oh, yeah." Jazz nodded proudly. "I did."

"Did what?" Bluestreak looked over from where he was watching cartoons.

Jazz glanced in Blue's direction. "Somethin' that should've been done a long time ago."

Prowl shook his head disapprovingly. "I told you to leave him alone."

"I _did_ leave 'im alone." Jazz crossed his arms.

"You could just be making things worse." Prowl tapped his fingers on the table. "Sometimes its better not to interfere."

"Well, things couldn't keep goin' on the way they were goin'. He was miserable. She didn't look too great either." Jazz shrugged. "I did what needed to be done."

Prowl looked across the table at his friend seriously. "You don't have any idea what that human has been doing while she's been gone. For all you know she could have a mate, or offspring, or Primus knows what else. I want to see my friends happy as much as you do but this could all blow up in your face."

Jazz glared right back. "Y'know what yer problem is, Prowl?"

The mech leaned back and crossed his arms. "I'm sure you're going to tell me..."

The doors to the room slid open and Ironhide ambled in. He glanced around at the assembled mechs before making his way over to grab some energon. "Mornin'"

"Good mornin', 'Hide." Jazz practically beamed at the mech. "So?"

Ironhide slowly made his way over to take a seat. He noted that Jazz seemed to be looking at him expectantly. "What?"

"How's things with you and your friend?" Jazz raised his cube of energon to his mouth and looked at Ironhide over the rim.

Ironhide seemed to consider the question for a moment before sitting his energon aside and looking at the other mech. "Good, I think...really good. We did a lot of talkin'."

Jazz motioned for him to continue. "And?"

"And...We're gonna see what happens." Ironhide's mouth twisted into a lopsided grin. "If everythin' works out, she's gonna plan on stayin'."

"My man!" Jazz slapped Ironhide on the back. "Glad ta see all my hard work wasn't for nothin'. Seriously, man, that's terrific." He shot a victorious glance at Prowl. "See? I told ya!"

"Jazz?" 'Hide looked over at the silver mech. "Thanks."

"Hey," Jazz dismissed his gratitude. "No thanks needed. Its what I do."

"Ahem!" Prowl cleared his vocal processor causing the two mechs to look in his direction. Even he had to admit, the Ironhide sitting in front of him was infinitely better than the brooding one he had been exposed to since making planet fall. "When do we get to meet this human, Ironhide?"

"She should've been in here by now." Ironhide checked the time. "She has to meet with 'er lawyer in an hour." He stood from the table. "Maybe I should go check on 'er." He hadn't taken two steps before the door to the room slid open once again.

Ratchet strode in with a very disgruntled looking young woman perched on one hand. "You're not going to be late, Revecca. I know you're feeling a bit anxious right now, but if you would cooperate we could have already been done."

"Ratchet, I told you...I'm fine." Revecca crossed her arms. "Everything healed up the way it was supposed to. There are perfectly good doctors in Chicago. They took really good care of me..."

The medic huffed in indignation. "Maybe so, but they aren't me." Ratchet brought her up to optic level and fixed her with a look that just dared her to argue with his authority.

"Alright, fine." Rev's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I promise, as soon as I'm done with what I have to do, I'll come back and you can examine whatever you want if it'll make you feel better."

Ratchet considered for a moment. "Fine. You are to come straight back here. I want to make sure you haven't suffered any after effects from your ordeal."

"Straight back." Rev nodded. "I promise."

"Ironhide..." Ratchet handed the woman off to the waiting mech. "I trust I don't have to tell you to take care of her." He lightly tapped the mech on the shoulder before throwing another glance at the human. "I'll see you later."

"Yes, Sir." Revecca sighed in relief as she watched the medic disappear back through the doors and sank back into Ironhide's cupped hand. She tilted her head back to look up at him. "Good morning."

Ironhide looked down at her in amusement. "The Hatchet caught ya?"

"He was waiting right outside the door. He snatched me up as soon as I stepped out." Rev laughed a bit nervously. "I was afraid he was going to take me back to the med bay and put me in quarantine or something."

The mech chuckled. "He'd be welcome to try..."

"Ironhide?"

The mech reluctantly pulled his optics off the woman to discover a crowd had gathered. Prowl stood before him with his arms folded across his chest. Bluestreak had migrated over from where he had been watching television and was fixated on the human in his hand. Even Wheeljack had snuck in from somewhere while he had been distracted by and was peering over his shoulder at their guest.

"Oh, uh...right." 'Hide looked down upon her. "Revecca, this is Prowl. Second only to Prime himself." He inclined his head toward the tactician.

"Ma'am." Prowl gave her a nod. "First and foremost, I'd just like to apologize for the unscrupulous means in which you were brought here. I in no way condone or encourage such conduct. Rest assured that Jazz will not be doing anything of the sort again."

Rev blinked at the mech, a bit concerned for her friend. "He isn't in trouble...is he?" She glanced over at the silver mech. "Jazz, I swear I was just joking about that whole felony kidnapping thing..."

"Eh," Jazz spoke up from where he still lounged and gave her a wink. "Don't worry 'bout me, pretty lady. It was worth it."

Ironhide snorted and turned toward the mech hovering over his shoulder. "This is Wheeljack, best engineer this side of the Universe...for the most part. Just stay clear of his lab...please." The mech put extra stress on the 'stay clear' and 'please' part.

"Oh, okay..." Rev nodded, a bit confused.

"You can call me Jack." The mech extended a finger toward the woman, not offended in the least by Ironhide's subtle comment. "Jazz has told us a lot about you. It's nice to finally put a face to the name."

Revecca clasped the finger in both of her hands and shook it. He seemed nice enough. "Nice to meet you."

"And this," Ironhide turned back toward the gray bot who seemed to be eagerly awaiting his introduction since learning they had a guest. "Is Bluestreak."

The bots face plates immediately hitched up into a bright smile. "Hi, Revecca." The mech bent over so he could look her in the eyes without her having to crane her head back. "It's really nice to finally meet you. Ratchet and Jazz told us all about how you helped get him back online. That was a really nice thing you did. Especially for people you didn't really know. I'm sorry you got caught up in the whole mess with the Decepticons. Thank Primus you're alright. Are you going to be staying with us? I know Ironhide, for one would be really happy if you did…"

"Blue," Prowl cut the mech off before he could really get on a roll. "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready to go on patrol?"

"Oh, yeah!" The mech chuckled. "I almost forgot." He shot an apologetic look at Revecca. "Maybe we can talk some more later?"

"Sure...that would be...nice." Rev answered, still a bit bewildered by the talkative mech.

"Great!" The bot gave the woman a quick wave before hurrying off.

Revecca chuckled. "He's very…friendly."

Ironhide nudged her with one finger. "I hate to say it but we need to go if you're gonna be on time to meet with your lawyer. You ready?"

Rev's face fell. "Not really, but I guess it's better to get it over with, right?"

XXXXXXXXXX

The trip back into town had been a pleasant one for the most part. Revecca had enjoyed watching the sights roll by as she and Ironhide caught up on what had been going on in each other's lives since they had been apart. At some point during the trip, Rev had found her hand tangled with that of Ironhide's holoform. The reassuring feel of the large hand grasping her own comforted her despite her rising anxiety the closer they got to their destination. Revecca had a hard time letting go when they finally pulled up in front of the lawyer's office.

Ironhide picked up on her apprehension easily. "Look," He squeezed her hand. "Everythin' is gonna be fine." He reached with his other hand to brush hair out of her eyes. "You want me to go with you?"

Rev looked at him wide-eyed. "Would you?"

Holo-Hide looked back at her sincerely and squeezed her hand. "Ya know I would."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Lawyer's Office**

"I want you to understand, Ms. Warren, you do have rights protecting yourself from self-incrimination; however, it does look better if you choose to cooperate. What we need to do is convince the prosecution that the information you have to share is of high enough caliber to warrant granting you immunity. We don't want to help them out and give them ammunition they could use to press charges against you for your involvement later. As I'm sure you're aware, this case has evolved into a federal affair due to matters brought up involving national security and Mr. Cavanaugh's involvement with so-called 'terrorists'. With all the recent focus on homeland security, you could very easily be looking at a maximum time of 15 years in a federal penitentiary if they really wanted to push the matter. The Federal DA is taking this case very seriously."

Revecca blanched as she looked back across the desk at the lawyer. "I'm going to prison…"

Ironhide tightened the arm he had put around her shoulders to comfort her. "You're not goin' to prison." He narrowed his eyes menacingly at the man sitting across from him daring him to argue. "She's not goin' to prison."

"Yes, well…" The lawyer fidgeted a bit. The large, muscular man made him nervous...very nervous. "That's what I'm doing my best to try to prevent, uh..." He tried to refocus on his client and tune out the man's intense gaze. "Now, Ms. Warren, what I need is for you to give me something to bargain with."

Rev cut a nervous glance over to Ironhide and rubbed her sweaty palms against her thighs. "Like what?"

The lawyer looked at her over the rim of his glasses. "When you go home tonight, I want you to sit down and write out your account of everything that has transpired. I want you to start from the first time you laid eyes on Ryan Cavanaugh. I want you to write down every single thing you can remember. I want names, dates, places, all of it. Try to keep it factual. Can you do that for me?"

The woman took a deep breath and blew it out. She nodded slowly. "Yeah...I can do that."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Meanwhile...Across Town**

"What do you mean they've found a witness, you fat fucker? I thought I'd taken care of all that garbage." Ryan Cavanaugh cracked his knuckles as he glared at the man sitting across from him. "Who?"

"Umm..." The nervous man shuffled through his briefcase. "I just came from the courthouse, Mr. Cavanaugh..." He pulled out a stack of papers. "Here it is...They've issued a subpeona for a Ms. Revecca Warren..."

"WHAT?!" Ryan lunged across the desk at the man and grabbed him by the collar. "That bitch is still alive?"

"Apparently so, Mr. Cavanaugh..." The man gulped. "She's been served..."

"That fucking whore." Ryan released his grip on the man and fell back into his chair. "I can't fucking believe this shit..."

The last time Ryan had saw the woman he had been running from a giant metal monster. It had wanted Revecca. He had essentially threw the girl at the thing's feet and took off like a bat out of hell. He had been certain the thing had been intent on killing him. To his utter amazement it completely totaled his beloved car, but it had let him live in the end.

He had hoped Revecca hadn't been as lucky. He had fantasized about her being trampled under the thing's feet like a broken toy. The girl had been nothing but trouble. Oh, she retrieved what he sent her out for like a good little thief, but she had almost single-handedly fucked up the biggest job of his criminal career when she got cold feet. He was lucky the one's that hired him had seemed so desperate. He had never met them face-to-face, but he was under the impression that they were not people you wanted to fuck with.

It was that job that had landed him in this mess...well, that and that damned nightmarish, metal freak. Ryan had been so disturbed by the encounter with the hulking giant that he had, unthinking, gone to the police in near hysteria. That decision would prove to be his downfall. The police had found no sign of the monster he had described and no trace of Revecca. What they did find was a trashed Aston Martin and enough evidence against him to warrant a full-blown investigation.

"I'll be damned if I let that bitch get one over on me." Ryan gripped the armrests of his chair. "I want to know where she is and who she's with...and I want to know now."

End of Chapter 4

**I truly apologize for this chapter. I'm sorry, I know some parts are choppy and other parts ramble. I've been (and still am) really ill and was (am) under the influence of Nyquil, decongestants, anti-biotics and other various prescription medications while writing this. I tried to work on it during my more lucid moments, but some of the stuff my doc gave me makes me feel kinda loopy(I've never noticed how truly fascinating a ceiling fan is before)...my room mate thinks its hysterical. I just reread through this and I think it makes sense...then again, I am feeling rather detached from my body at the moment (wheeee!!). Till we meet again! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I know I've kinda been neglecting this one...and I'm sorry. I'm trying to get myself back on track. I really am. A huge "Thank You" to everyone who took the time to read and review the last chapter (valenKusano, SessGome, Arrna, PandylBas, Duvet, Elita One, Stesuna the Dragon, kemurikat, Yaya Hatake, blood shifter, and flamingmarsh). I really, really appreciate it. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. On with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I have never owned Transformers and I probably never will. Yes, people...life is totally unfair.**

XXXXXXXXXX

**Autobot Base**

Ironhide frowned as he watched the human he had grown so fond of sitting quietly at a human-sized table in the rec room. She stared absently at the open notebook in front of her while rolling an ink pen between her hands. He could only imagine what was going through her head.

The trip to see the lawyer had made it obviously clear that the young woman had only two choices. She could either divulge everything she knew about Ryan Cavanaugh to the authories or, she could go to prison. Ironhide knew Revecca was terrified by both prospects even though she had gone through great pains to play off the seriousness of the situation since they had arrived back at the base.

Wishing to do something, anything he could to lend his support, he took a step toward her and knelt down next to where she sat. "Is there anythin' I can do?"

Revecca blew out a breath and looked up at the mech. "I don't even know where to start. Its just...I've done some really fucked up stuff, y'know..."

Ironhide made a rumbling sound deep in his chest. "It can't be that bad."

Rev sighed and shook her head sadly. "If you only knew half the things I've done, you probably wouldn't be able to look at me the same." She averted her eyes. "I'm telling you, Ironhide, I'm not worth your time or your pity."

"Revecca...look at me." Ironhide put a finger under her chin to force her to look up at him. "We've all done thing's we aren't proud of, myself included. There's nothin' you can tell me that's gonna make me think any less of ya." He moved his finger to touch the side of her face. "And I'm not spendin' time with ya outta pity. You should know that by now."

Rev grasped Ironhide's finger with one of her slender hands. Tears had begun to gather in her eyes. "Ironhide, I-"

"I know...Its gonna be alright." He gently removed his finger from her grip and tapped the open notebook. "C'mon, tell me how ya met this Cavanaugh slagger."

Revecca took a deep breath and picked up her pen. Setting the tip to the paper she started to write as she narrated to Ironhide. She just hoped that after everything was said and done that he'd still feel the same about her. She didn't think she could bear him having a negative image of her, or worse, stop caring about her. When she thought about it, he was really all she had.

"After highschool...after my dad died, I was really struggling. I had no money, no place to stay. A friend of mine had a hookup and got me a job working at this bar...er...strip club..."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Cavanaugh's Apartment**

"OH, FUCK!" Ryan shuddered and collapsed on top of the brunette beneath him. Rolling off the woman he groped around on his nightstand for his cigarettes. He glanced over at the woman as he flipped open his lighter. "Well?"

"Mmm..." The woman flashed him a smile and stretched causing the sheet to fall away from her breasts. "That was amazing."

Ryan snorted and took a drag off his cigarette, blowing the smoke in the woman's direction. "What the fuck are you still doing here?"

The woman's smile faltered. "Excuse me?"

Ryan grinned at her lewdly. "Look, Annie..."

The woman grabbed the sheet and clutched it to her chest. "My name is Amy..."

"What the fuck ever." Ryan took another drag off his cigarette. "I don't really care."

The woman's lip quivered. "I don't understand...you said..."

"I know what I said." Ryan crushed his cigarette out in the ashtray. "You were a dumb enough bitch to believe it. Now get dressed and get the fuck out of my apartment, you fucking slut."

"You bastard!" The woman staggered to her feet, the sheet still wrapped around her. "You brought me here..."

Ryan laughed, cutting her off. "Oh, like I put a fucking gun to your head, you stupid bitch. You were the one begging me for it like a whore." He gestured to her discarded clothing that littered the bedroom. "Now get your shit and get out."

"Fucking asshole..." A tear slid out of the woman's eye as she darted around gathering her things. "You think you can just use people and then throw them away..."

"I'm Ryan Cavanaugh. I can do whatever I want." Ryan lit another cigarette as he watched the woman storm out of the room cursing as she went. He listened to the front door open and slam shut. His mind now clear from his recent bout of sex, he could now focus his attention on the woman he was really interested in.

He picked up the bedside phone and dialed. After three rings a gruff voice answered on the other end. Ryan smiled. "Hey, Eddie. It's Cavanaugh. Listen, you interested in making some cash?"

XXXXXXXXXX

**Autobot Base**

Revecca held her breath as she finished her story. Her throat felt raw and her hand cramped from writing. She had told Ironhide everything. She had divulged every single detail, from the first time she had ever laid eyes on Ryan until that fateful night they had met each other. She waited for him to say something, anything to let her know that he was still there...that he still cared.

"I'm proud of ya."

Revecca jumped as the sound of the mech's voice echoed through the room. She looked up at him, eyes wide. "What?"

"I said I'm proud of ya." A lopsided grin was forming on 'Hide's face. "It takes a lot of guts to walk away from somethin' like that. It takes even more guts to do what your doin' now. You should be proud of yourself."

"You...you don't..." Rev looked at him a bit confused. "You're not..."

"I've already told ya." Ironhide extended his hand to the woman in an invitation to sit. Once she was settled, he stood and cradled her to his chest. "I love ya and nothin's gonna change that."

"What if..." Revecca swallowed hard. She hated thinking about 'what ifs'. "What if things don't work out? What if the DA decides to press charges anyway? What if I go to prison?"

"They will." Ironhide looked down at his human. "The only place your goin' is with me back to my quarters to get some rest. If anyone has a problem with that they're gonna have to go through me first."

Revecca nodded and settled against him to bask in the safety and security he offered. She wanted so badly to believe what he said. She couldn't shake the queasy feeling in her gut, however, that told her something very different. It was like something dark lurked on the horizon that she couldn't quite see. She only hoped Ironhide would be standing there with her when she was finally close enough to make out what it was.

End of Chapter 5

**Sorry for the short chapter. The next one is gonna be much more involved, I think. I'm saving my creativity up for that, lol.**

**I hate Ryan. I truly, truly do. I wish I could just poof him out of existence but unfortunately I need him for this story. Anyway, I hope that was at least mildly entertaining. My muse for this story has seeminly took a vacation (that's why it took so long to update). Therefore, I am looking for some ideas for this story so if anyone has any they can feel free to drop me a line. I take all suggestions into consideration. Till next time!**

**VQ **


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Another update??? I can't freakin' believe it! After I posted chapter 5 yesterday, I had a sudden bout of inspiration and had to pound this out really quick. It isn't what I had in mind for chapter 6 but I had to do it...if only to show what desperate measures Ryan is going through to find Rev. Have I mentioned that I hate him??? Lol! See ya at the bottom!**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Nuff said.**

XXXXXXXXXX

**Downtown **

Eddie Howard pulled his aging Oldsmobile Cutlass into the hotel parking lot next to a red Toyota Camry. He cut the engine and climbed out of his vehicle, slamming the door behind him. He gave the Camry a once over and strolled around to take a glimpse at the license plate. Sure enough, it matched the plate number he had gotten from the place at the airport where Revecca Warren had rented it.

Straightening himself, Eddie strolled toward the office trying to look as professional as possible. His years on the police force, before being kicked off after an investigation by Internal Affairs had revealed his less-than-legal side work, had groomed him for situations like these and he relished the chance to play detective again. Just like in the good old days. Just like before he met Ryan Cavanaugh and became tangled in his web.

The bell over the door dinged when Eddie entered causing the clerk to look up from the crossword puzzle he was doing. "Good morning, sir. Are you looking for a room?"

"No. I'm actually looking for a missing person." Eddie approached the counter and reached to pull a photo out of his pocket. He slid it in front of the clerk and tapped it with one, blunt finger. "I was hoping maybe you could help me out."

"A missing person?" That had gotten the clerk's attention. He looked down at the photo. Recognition flashed across his features and he sat the crossword aside. "What makes you think I can help?"

Eddie hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "See that Toyota out there?"

The clerk nodded.

"That's her's." Eddie cocked his head to the side. "She rented it at the airport a couple days ago. I know she's in the area. I just need to find her."

The clerk looked from the car to the man before him a bit uneasily. "Why did you say you were looking for her?"

Eddie ran a hand through his thinning hair. "Her...brother...hired me to find her. She...isn't well and the family is really worried about her. They just want to find her and bring her home safe before anything happens to her."

"She..." The clerk swallowed. "She seemed okay when I spoke to her."

"You spoke to her?" Eddie perked up. "When was this? Is she still here."

"No." The clerk shrugged. "That was a couple days ago. She tried to rent a room but her card was declined. She got upset and left. I haven't seen her since."

"Her car's still here." Eddie eyed the clerk. "You sure she hasn't been back?"

"Positive. I saw her leave with some guy in a Pontiac. Looked like he was having a hard time convincing her to go with him, though." The clerk seemed to think for a moment. His eyes widened. "You don't think something bad happened to her do you?"

"No." Eddie's eye twitched. "I'm sure she's just fine." _For now. _Eddie leaned across the counter and looked the clerk square in the eye. "Say, does your parking lot have security cameras?"

The clerk nodded. "Sure does."

Eddie leaned in farther toward the man. "Do you think it would be okay if I took a look at the tapes from the passed couple nights?"

XXXXXXXXXX

**Autobot Base**

Revecca lay in the semi-darkness of Ironhide's quarters. The room was silent except for the occasional creak of metal or soft hiss of hydraulics that came from the enormous mass of black metal beneath her. Ironhide had taken her back to his quarters and they had talked until they had both been exhausted. Apparently, she had fallen asleep, still perched on his chest.

It had been a long night...long, but welcome. After having listened to Revecca's confessions in the Rec Room, Ironhide had divulged some of his own personal demons. Revecca had listened quietly as the mech spoke and had gotten the feeling that many of the things he told her, he hadn't shared with anyone else. She felt a small thrill at the thought that he trusted her with some of his more intimate secrets.

They had talked about happier things also. She had shared what life had been like with her father before he had gotten sick. She told him about her real friends and Tisha back in Chicago. He told her what his planet had been like before the war with the Decepticons destroyed it. He told her about his sparkmate, Chromia, and what their life together had been like. It had been a refreshing conversation for the both of them.

Revecca stretched as much as she could with the slumbering mech's hand still draped over her, preventing her from sliding off his chest. She found herself wishing she could stay like this forever, in this room, safe and protected...loved. She wished there was no Ryan Cavanaugh, no lawyers, no impending court case...just the room she was in and Ironhide. What else was there, really?

Beneath her, Revecca felt the mech shift. A lazy groan emitted from the mech's vocals. The hand covering her tightened its grip slightly as Ironhide unshuttered his optics. His optics slowly brightened to their normal blue color as he looked down at her.

"Mornin'." Ironhide ruffled the woman's hair with one finger before carefully lifting her from where she sat.

Revecca took a deep, cleansing breath as the mech gently sat her down onto her berth. "Good morning."

Ironhide maneuvered himself to where he was sitting on the edge of the berth. "Feelin' better today?"

Rev seemed to contemplate the question for a moment before answering. "Yeah." She smiled up at him. "I do."

"Good." Ironhide nodded. "Me, too."

Truthfully, it was the best morning they had both had in quite a while. Still, as Revecca watched the mech haul himself to his feet, the inkling that all was not well again washed over her. The safe, secure feeling she had began to dissapate. She felt herself growing restless, antsy. She needed to get out for a while.

"Hey, 'Hide?"

"Yeah?" Ironhide turned to look at the woman.

Rev carefully stood up on the berth's surface. "Do you think it would be alright if we went out for a while?"

'Hide seemed to consider. "Where do ya want to go?"

"I don't know." Revecca shrugged. "Just out. I just...I need some fresh air, I think."

Ironhide nodded. "I'll meet ya out front."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Yeah, that's right." Eddie was talking on his cell phone as he maneuvered his automobile through the morning traffic. "She left with some guy in a silver Solstice." A pause. "No. I couldn't make out who was driving it. I ran the plates through DMV and there was no match." He pulled his car into a McDonald's parking lot and cut the engine. "Uh huh. I understand. Don't worry Mr. Cavanaugh, I'll find her."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Cavanaugh's Apartment**

"Thanks, Eddie." Ryan hung up his phone and took a long drag off his cigarette before smashing it out in the ashtray. The news that Revecca was indeed in town caused a grin to pull at his mouth. Ryan couldn't wait to get his hands on her...maybe finish what he started the last time they were together. One thing he knew for certain, she would think twice before opening her mouth against him by the time he was done with her.

End of Chapter 6

**Alrighty, like I said yesterday, I'm open to suggestions for this story if anyone has any ideas. I have a vague idea of where I want this to go but the plot I started out with has kinda deviated and I'm feelin' kinda lost at the moment, lol. Anyways...let me know what ya think. Happy reading!**

**Voodoo **


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: New Chapter...YAY! It's Friday...YAY! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, or McDonald's, or Egg McMuffins...although I do enjoy eating one occasionally (Egg McMuffins, not Transformers, lol).**

XXXXXXXXXX

**On the Road**

"You lookin' to go anywhere in particular?"

"Nope." Revecca cut a glance over at the 'man' behind the wheel. "Just wanted to get out for a while."

"You're worried, aren't ya?" The holoform frowned as it looked toward the woman sitting in the passenger seat.

"Wouldn't you be?" Revecca dropped her eyes to her lap. "Face prison or face Ryan. It isn't exactly a good position to be in."

"Rev..." Holo-Hide reached across the seat and gave her hand a squeeze. "I told ya, everything is gonna be fine."

"How can you know that?" Rev sighed as she looked at their entwined fingers. "You don't have control over the prosecutor...and Ryan...you don't know what he's like..."

Ironhide rolled to a stop as a traffic light turned red. "I think I have a pretty good idea..." His voice came out low and dangerous and his jaw seemed to tense. "And I promis you that if he ever attempts to lay another hand on ya it'll be the last thing that glitch ever does."

Rev shivered slightly. She could hear in his voice just how serious he was. "Ironhide..."

"I mean it." He shot a quick glance in her direction as the light changed back to green and the traffic began to move. "Everything is gonna be fine. Alright?"

"Alright..." Revecca nodded and took a deep breath. "If you say so."

"Good." A lopsided grin spread across the holoform's face. He lifted her hand to his mouth and grazed his lips slowly across the back of her fingers.

Revecca jumped slightly at the electric feeling that seemed to tingle up her arm at the contact. Her nerve endings themselves seemed to crackle with a mild electrical current. It was a strangely pleasant sensation...odd, but pleasant. It was distracting enough to pull her mind away from her worried thoughts. A giggle escaped her.

Ironhide eyed her curiously, a dangerous twinkle in his eyes. "What?"

"That tickles." Revecca half-heartedly tried to reclaim her hand.

"Good." 'Hide tightened his grip, not willing to let her go, and gave her a sly grin as he continued to caress the back of her hand with his thumb. "It's supposed to."

Revecca opened her mouth to retort when her stomach decided to let out a loud grumble. She clamped her free hand around her middle and gave the holoform and embarrassed smile. "Sorry."

Ironhide chuckled and let go of her hand. "You need to ingest something." The mech turned down a street that led to the business district. "Do ya have a preference?"

"Not really." Rev rubbed one hand over her protesting stomach. "Food is food. Whatever is closest."

Ironhide spotted a set of golden arches ahead on the right. He looked toward his passenger. "Is McDonald's acceptable?"

"That works." Revecca gave the holoform a nod as the GMC pulled into a space in the restaurant's parking lot. She moved to unfasten her seat belt before looking back at the 'man' behind the wheel and grinning. "You want anything? Maybe a vat of the oil they cook the fries in, or something?"

The truck's engine let out an insulted grumble. "Organic vegetable oil?" The holoform frowned. "Disgusting."

Revecca laughed. "I was joking 'Hide. God forbid anything organic come into contact with your internals..."

Ironhide fixed the woman with a pointed look. "There are certain organics I wouldn't mind havin' a little contact with my internals..."

"Riiiight..." Rev blushed and shook her head as she reached for the door handle. "I'll be right back."

Ironhide chuckled at her embarrassment. "I'll be here."

XXXXXXXXXX

**McDonald's**

Eddie Howard remained in the booth long after he had finished his Egg McMuffin. As he stared out into the McDonald's parking lot he contemplated his next move. How was he going to find the woman? All he had on her was that she had gone off with some guy in a silver Pontiac. A check on the plates turned up absolutely nothing. It was like the woman had simply vanished into thin air.

_Smart girl. _Eddie knew the Warren woman used to work for Cavanaugh in some capacity. She surely knew what kind of man she was dealing with and had seen fit to make herself scarce with a major criminal hearing looming on the horizon. Eddie couldn't blame her. Hell, there were times he'd like to vanish off Cavanaugh's radar himself.

Still, he had a job to do and he intended to do it. It was nothing personal against the Warren woman. To be honest, Eddie felt rather bad about the entire situation...but he had debts to pay. Cavanaugh had agreed to pay him six grand in exchange for his services. He had gotten three up front and would get the other half after the girl was safely delivered. Money was money.

Eddie took a swig of his now cold coffee and stood. His mind whirred as he tried to figure out where to begin his search. Tossing his styrofoam cup into the trash bin, he made his way to the exit just as a petite blond hopped out of a huge black truck and made her way toward the entrance. Eddie stepped out of her way as she came through the door.

The woman smiled politely at him as she passed. "Excuse me."

"No...." A small smile tugged at Eddie's mouth as well. "Excuse me..." He looked after her as she made her way toward the serving counter and pulled the crumpled photograph out of his pocket. It looks like he wouldn't have to search all that hard afterall.

End of Chapter 7

**Wow...it took me long enough, huh? This chapter didn't come out as long as I had originally intended. I'm gonna try to make it up in the next one. I'd like to thank all the people who left me such wonderful suggestions and reviews after the last chapter: DemonicSymphony, serenity8118, Shaymayca1, and flamingmarsh. I've decided to take all those suggestions and sort of combine them. It should be interesting...I already feel sorry for Rev. Things are about to go from bad to worse...and Ironhide isn't gonna take it very well. Till next time...**

**VQ**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: No, I didn't die. Here is a brand, spanking new chapter! Sorry it took so long! Writer's block is an evil affliction, I tell you! You don't even want to know how long it took me to write this! Hopefully, it isn't a pile of complete, festering crap. Anyway, enough of my rambling. I hope you enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: Despite rumors to the contrary...I don't own them...or McDonalds!**

XXXXXXXXXX

**McDonalds**

All of the little hairs on the back of Revecca's neck stood up and she shivered involuntarily. She tapped her fingers nervously against the counter as she waited for her food. She could feel the man's intense gaze upon her and it made her more than a little nervous, especially given her current situation. The fact that her huge, self-proclaimed, alien robot bodyguard sat idling in the parking lot did little to quell her unease.

Shifting slightly to the left, Rev tried to get a better look out of the corner of her eye at the man she had passed on her way in. To her, he looked to be about in his mid-40's. He was tall, probably hovering around six feet and built like a football player. His brown hair was flecked with gray here and there and was thinning near his temples. A couple day's worth of stubble decorated his face and his piercing hazel eyes were fixed steadfastly on her.

He looked vaguely familiar but Rev couldn't place him. Her eyebrows furrowed in thought. Where had she seen this man before?

"Here you are, ma'am. Do you need condiments?" The woman behind the counter startled Revecca out of her thoughts.

"Umm...n-no, thank you. Umm.." Revecca studied the tray of food for a second. She thought it rude to eat inside Ironhide and had actually intended on eating inside quickly before heading back out to him. The strange man had unnerved her, however, and the only thing she could think about was retreating back into the safety the mech provided. "Actually, could I get this to go instead?"

"Oh, sure."

Rev waited a bit impatiently as the woman took her time bagging up her order. She could still feel the man's eyes sizing her up and she was feeling more than a bit apprehensive. Something about the guy gave her a bad feeling...a very bad feeling that she mostly associated with one Ryan Cavanaugh.

"Here you are, ma'am." The woman smiled as she handed the bag to Revecca.

Rev forced a smile as she took her order from the woman's hands. "Thanks."

Turning from the counter, Revecca kept her head down to avoid eye contact with the stranger as she headed quickly back toward the exit. She didn't slow down until she was out of the building and standing in the morning sunshine. She let out a relieved breath, smiling a bit as she gazed across the parking lot at her alien comrade. Already she felt a bit better.

Stepping off the curb, Revecca had only taken a couple steps when a large hand closed over her upper arm from behind and spun her around. Startled, Rev found herself looking up into the face of the man who had been watching her so intently inside the restaurant. Immediately, a terrible sense of dread welled within her.

The man grinned. "Excuse me, I hate to bother you but...do I know you? You look really familiar."

"N-no..." Rev shook her head. She could feel the man's grip on her tighten slightly. She barely resisted the impulse to scream and cause a scene.

"Yeah..." The man inched closer to her as if studying her. "Yeah, I've seen you around..."

Rev's mind worked frantically to try to find some way out of the situation she was in. "I'm afraid you haven't. I'm just visiting from out of town..."

The man frowned at her. "Just visiting, huh?"

Revecca nodded and the man's grip loosened slightly. "Yeah, that's right."

"Really?" The man seemed to ponder the info for a moment, a smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth. "That's funny, Miss Warren. I could have sworn you were here because you were subpeonaed to testify in court."

Revecca's eyes widened in both surprise and fear. "Who are you?"

"That's not important." The man's grip tightened once more and he dragged her closer. "What is important is that you realize what a nasty, little situation you've gotten yourself into here. Mr. Cavanaugh isn't too keen on backstabbing deserters in his operation..."

Rev's breathing hitched at the mention of Cavanaugh's name. "Ryan..."

"Isn't too pleased with you right now, Miss Warren." The man grinned. "He wanted me to bring you in for a little chat. He's sure that the two of you can come to some sort of understanding that would make everyone happy. Now..." The man looked her up and down as if trying to determine what sort of fight she was capable of putting up. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. The choice is up to you. What do you say?"

Revecca scoffed and tried to pull away. "I'm not going anywhere with you. As far as I'm concerned, that bastard can rot in prison for the rest of his natural life..."

"Wrong answer, little girl."

The man moved so quickly that it caught Revecca off guard. She suddenly found herself pinned against the man's chest, one of his arms wrapped tightly around her waist while his other hand bent the wrist of her right arm painfully backwards in an attempt to control her. It took her a moment to realize that she was being hastily ushered in the direction of an Oldsmobile parked on the opposite side of the lot.

Revecca renewed her struggles. "Let go of me!"

The man bent her wrist back painfully and hissed into her ear. "Shut the hell up. Don't make this any harder than it has to be Ms. Warren..."

"I don't know what Ryan has told you or what he's paying you but you don't want to do this..." Rev craned her neck to look back over her shoulder. The man had pulled her around the corner of the building and she could no longer see where the Autobot was parked. She only hoped that the mech would be able to hear her if she screamed.

The man grimaced. "I said shut the fuck up. You don't understand..."

"No, you don't understand." Rev's body tensed ever so slightly as she prepared herself. "You really, really, really don't want to do this." Revecca brought her leg up and kicked backwards, hitting the man square in his left knee. The impact was enough that it caused the man to loosen his grip allowing her to wrench herself free of his grasp.

"Ironhide!" The mech's name left her lips in a panicked scream as she ran back through the parking lot as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Bitch!"

The man had recovered quickly and she could hear him coming up fast behind her. She wasn't going to make it back to where Ironhide was parked. The thought had no sooner crossed her mind than she felt a hand tangle roughly in her hair and haul her backwards. The scream that left her throat was drowned out by the screeching of tires as the large, black GMC reversed into view. Revecca nearly wept in relief as the massive truck came to a stop directly in front of her.

The truck had barely stopped moving when the driver's door flew open and a very large, very pissed off looking man strode toward the two. "You have exactly three seconds to get your hands off of her or I'm gonna remove 'em for ya."

"Look, buddy..." The man kept one hand twisted in Rev's hair and used the other to gesture at Ironhide's holoform. "You need to mind your own fucking business. This is between me and the lady so get the hell out of here."

The only warning was a low growl from the GMC's engine before Holo-Hide's hand shot out to grab the hand the man was waving around in his direction. In one swift motion, the man's arm was bent painfully backwards. The man yelped in pain as his elbow gave a sickening pop causing him to release his hold on Revecca, who scurried quickly away.

"Revecca, get inside." Ironhide popped open his passenger door as he continued to twist the man's arm backwards, bringing him to his knees. He threw a glance back over his shoulder towards the frightened woman huddling against his alt form. "Rev..."

"Huh?" Rev's eyes darted back and forth between the man who had assaulted her and the Autobot's holoform.

"Get inside!" Ironhide released the man, letting him topple over onto the asphalt, and threw another look back towards his human. "Now."

"Okay..." Revecca nodded her head but her eyes lingered on the man struggling in vain to get up off the ground and nursing his injured elbow as she climbed up into Ironhide's cab. The slamming and locking of the door behind her stirred her out of her daze and she watched in both awe and slight fear as the holoform turned back to her attacker.

The holoform narrowed its eyes at the man. "Who are you?"

The man glared daggers through Ironhide's holoform, still cradling his injured arm. "Fuck you, asshole!"

With a low rumble, Ironhide roughly grabbed the man by the front of his shirt, dragging him up off of the ground to where he could look him in the eye. "What do you want with Revecca? Who sent you here? Cavanaugh?"

"I ain't tellin' you shit, motherfucker!" The man struggling in Ironhide's grasp hawked and spat, the greenish blob of phlegm and saliva hitting the holoform just below the right eye and oozing down the side of his face.

Tightening his grip on the man, Ironhide growled in revulsion. "Filthy piece of organic garbage..."

"Shit!" The man cursed loudly as he was thrown backwards into a parked car hard enough to knock the air completely out of him and dent the door he slammed into before tumbling to the ground in a pained heap. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked up to see the other man advancing on him, fists clenched and ready to fight.

Revecca fearfully watched the entire scene play out in agonizing slow motion. She looked on in a sort of morbid fascination as Ironhide's holoform stalked toward the downed man, poised to beat an answer out of him if need be. She willed herself to look away from the impending violence but found herself transfixed. It was the distant wail of police sirens that eventually pulled her out of her trance.

She spun around in the seat, patting the dashboard urgently even as she watched Ironhide's holoform continue to interrogate the other man. "Hide, we have to go. Someone's called the police..."

The mech seemed to not even notice she had spoken. She balled her hand into a fist and beat harder on the dash as the sound drew closer. "Ironhide! We need to leave!" Seeing that she was still being ignored, she dug her manicured nails deeply into the sensitive leather seats. "Ironhide!"

An acute flash of pain pulled the mech's from the human male on the ground. Registering that Revecca was attempting to gain his attention, it didn't take him long to realize what had gotten her riled up as he picked up the sound of what he determined was a pair of police cruisers headed in their general direction. From the intensity of the sound of their sirens, he estimated that they were approximately a mile from their current location.

"Hide?!" Rev's voice had taken on a pleading tone.

"I'm coming..." He grumbled in irritation and took one final look at the sniveling man on the ground before turning and moving quickly back toward his alt form. The sound of the sirens grew louder and the mech knew that the human authorities were very nearly on top of them. With no time left to linger and praying no one would notice, he phased out his holoform just as it reached the driver's side door and peeled out of the parking lot, quickly getting lost in the flow of early morning traffic.

End of Chapter 8

**Alrighty guys...I'm not too happy with this one. But, I guess I'm willing to settle for now seeing how long it took me to finally get this one out. It was torture! I do have a bit of the next chapter started, though. It seems to be flowing a bit better than this one so hopefully I'll have it up soon. I want to thank all you guys for being so patient with me. I'd also like to thank all you guys who reviewed the last chapter (haha21, fallenfaeangel, Cybernetic Mango, CRdragonPyro, The Transdresser, Elita One, Duvet, Katanagirl16 and flamingmarsh). I know its been a while but your comments really helped inspire me to get to work on this one. Thank you!**

**Till the next chapter!**

**Voodoo**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: No, I didn't die. I've had sort of a rough time so I really haven't been around. Someone very, very close to me passed away and I really haven't felt like writing...or doing much of anything for that matter. I'm really trying to get myself back together. So, I've finally gotten around to posting up another chapter...a very short chapter. Forgive me if its total crap. I'm trying to get back in my groove, really I am. Doing something is better than doing nothing!**

**Disclaimer: Even after all this time I still don't own Transformers and that really sucks.**

XXXXXXXXXX

**Cavanaugh's Apartment**

"Damn it! What the fuck?!" Ryan Cavanaugh paced restlessly back and forth. "Can't you do any fucking thing right, Eddie? I ask you to do one simply thing. One, goddamn simple thing and you fuck it straight to hell..."

"I'm sorry boss," Eddie Howard winced in pain as he shifted from one foot to the other. His arm was killing him. "I almost had her but..."

"But?" Cavanaugh's fists clenched in irritation. "But what, Eddie? What sort of lame ass excuse do you have for me this time?"

"There was a man!"

"And?" Ryan was unimpressed. "You should have beat his fucking ass into the ground and brought me what I paid you for, you worthless piece of shit."

"You didn't see the guy!" Eddie's voice took on a defensive tone. "He broke my fucking arm!"

"This is bullshit." Ryan shook his head and spun to face the other man. "Who was he?"

"I don't know." Eddie shrugged his shoulders and instantly regretted it as a stab of pain shot down his arm. "I've never seen him before. All I know is he was as strong as a goddamn ox. Big guy. Picked me up and slung me into a parked car like I wasn't nothing."

Ryan resumed his pacing. "Are you sure him and the bitch were together? Maybe he was just some wannabe good samaritan..."

"They knew each other." Eddie nodded to himself. "He called her by name. They left together in his truck before the police showed up."

Ryan stopped moving. "Did you get the plates?"

Eddie tensed. "No..."

"Damn it, Eddie!" Ryan advanced on the other man with fists poised to strike.

"Wait..wait!" Eddie held up his good arm to defend himself. "The truck, it was one of those big, heavy duty jobs, a Topkick. There can't be too many of them monsters around here. I'll find the guy! I'll find him!"

Ryan felt like he had be punched in the gut. His face blanched and his arm dropped instantly back down to his side. "Did you say a Topkick?"

"Y-yeah," Eddie hesitantly lowered the arm that he was protecting himself with. He eyed his boss. "A-are you alright, Mr. Cavanaugh?"

"Was it black?" Ryan looked at the man through blood-shot eyes.

"What?" Eddie looked back, confused.

"The truck," Ryan ground the words out between clenched teeth. "Was it black?"

Eddie took a couple steps backward. "Yes..."

"Wierd picture stamped into the tailgate?"

"Well, I didn't really look at it that close because the guy was busy beating the shit outta me, but yeah, there might have been something on the tailgate." Eddie frowned. He wasn't sure what was going on exactly but the look on Cavanaugh's face told him something was definitely wrong.

"No fucking way..." Ryan sank down onto his leather sofa. A shudder wracked his body as visions of an enormous, metal monster filled his mind. There was fear there, yes, but there was also anger. It was Revecca and that, that fucking _thing _that had been his downfall and he'd be damned if he let that bitch get one over on him again. A sadistic grin pulled at his lips. "Fucking perfect."

"What?" Eddie took a tentative step forward. "You know this guy?"

"No." Ryan shook his head. "Screw the guy. I know the truck." He looked up at the man before him with a strange glint in his eyes. "Eddie, my friend, we've had a slight change of plans."

End of Chapter 9

**I know that this is really, really short but I'm going to try to make up for it next time. I'm trying to get back into writing but its still kind of a struggle. My mind is on other things. That said, if any of you have any ideas that might kick start my imagination feel free to share. Also, reading back through some of the comments and suggestions, there are a lot of you asking for more Hide/Rev interaction. I'm a bit unsure how to approach **_**that**_** particular aspect of their relationship so any advice or tips anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.**

**Thank you to all the wonderful people who reviewed the last chapter all those many, many moons ago: FoghornLeghorn83, ObsidianPhantom, Death1991, haha21, Kylria, Katanogirl16, The Transdresser, Elita One, CRdragonPyro and flamingmarsh.**

**Thanks for your patience,**

**VQ**


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